Some years ago, in the heyday of cigarette smuggling, I found myself in a speedboat bouncing on the St. Lawrence River at 65 mph, heading to the Akwesasne Indian reserve that straddles the Canada-U.S. border.

Behind the wheel was a young French Canadian named Pierre, who described himself as a mid-size player in a billion dollar game. He smuggled 275 cases of cigarettes a week, each case filled with 50 cartons of smokes. In six months, he had made $100,000. (Note: Money in this story is in Canadian dollars.)